FALLBROOK: New tip in search for missing family

McStays may have been seen in Baja

Nearly three months after a family of four disappeared from
their Fallbrook home, a relative said Wednesday there has been a
"credible" tip that places the missing people in central Baja
California.

A waiter in the Mexican town of El Rosario reportedly saw the
McStay family twice in late February, serving them dinner and then
a brunch the following morning, said Michael McStay.

The tip is the latest turn in the mystery of what happened to
Joseph and Summer McStay and their two boys, Gianni, 4, and Joey
Jr., 3. The last time anyone heard from them was Feb. 4, and
Joseph's brother Michael said he and other family members are
confused and sick with worry.

Agent Darrell Foxworth, of the San Diego offices of the FBI,
told NBC 7/39 on Wednesday that investigators were looking into a
recent tip from Baja, but declined to give further details. The FBI
is assisting the San Diego Sheriff's Department in the
investigation into the family's disappearance.

Michael McStay said a friend who was searching for the family in
Mexico and passing out fliers last month spoke to a waiter from a
restaurant known as Mama Espinosa's.

The "most compelling" piece of information "without a doubt,"
Michael McStay said, was that the waiter mentioned, without
prompting, that one of the children he saw had a big red mark on
his head.

Joey McStay Jr., 3, has a large birthmark on his forehead.

"To me, that was big," McStay said. "This tip is pretty good
---- but it's still just hearsay."

Michael McStay said the waiter also reported that the father in
the family appeared to be ailing.

The waiter said that the family he served left behind a map of
some sort. They restaurant had saved the map ---- and now that map
has now been turned over to investigators., Michael McStay
said.

The worried brother said he is hopeful authorities will be able
to lift fingerprints from the paper.